Ties That Bind
by EreMika.Is.Cool
Summary: Eren Yeager is a seemingly hopeless and loveless individual, having lost both of his parents. In an effort of kindness he accidentally stumled upon the love of his life.
1. New Hope Part I

**: Ties That Bind :**

New Hope

Part I

Chapter I

It was a foggy morning on that day, the day he chose to visit the cemetery.

Standing atop of a grave below a willow tree, the young man decided to leave some flowers. He looked around to make sure nobody was around to see him possibly break down.

When he saw that the coast was clear, he began speaking, "It's been a while hasn't it? After 4 years since it happened I'm still coming here to see you. Like a man without a purpose." He chuckled lightly, "Look at me." He sighed, "talking to a piece of rock like I'm an insane person."

"I hope you're happy wherever you are." He decided to walk away before looking back and saying, "I didn't regret the things i did." as he formed his right hand into a fist, he said, "I regret the things i didn't do while you were still here." as tears started to form in his eyes, he decided to leave before letting out an _I'm sorry_ under his breath.

 ** _Sometime in the past.._**

A fifteen year-old brunette with teal eyes woke up that morning looking around his messy room with a dirty pile of clothes in the corner of his room and a pile of books next to it, he decided it was time to go out of his room.

Eren was an ophan living alone in his apartment provided by Mr. Hannes with only the noises from the outside world as his company.

He let out a sigh as he was making his breakfast because he really missed the company and the loving care his parents provided him. He thought to himself _"Mom would've teached me how to make a good breakfast, instead of this piece of shit food that i eat everyday."_

As he was eating his so called "piece of shit food" he accidentally bit his cheek while chewing. " _Shit"_ he thought, as he began feeling the pain, he remembered what his dad had always said to him _"Remember to take every single one of your actions cautiously son, even the small things."_ Hearing the voice of his father in his mind was enough to cause Eren to lose his appetite.

Eren went to the bathroom to make sure that his mouth wasn't bleeding when he suddenly remembered that today was a saturday, " _Shit, today's a saturday. that means work."_ as he looked at the clock he realized that he had only ten minutes before his morning shift begins.

Eren quickly got dressed in a black jacket and jeans while wearing his crimson scarf and left towards the café that he worked at.

It was a cold winter morning and Eren thought it was a good idea to be sprinting because he knew he was going to be late for work.

But it turns out that sprinting **_was_** a good idea after all. He came in to work with only little time left to spare and he wasn't late like he usually is.

 _"Good job, Eren."_ Said the short black haired man. _"With only one minute to spare."_

A bit startled by the sudden words of the man that seemingly came out of nowhere, he nerveously said _"T-thanks."_ _"Just put on your damn uniform already, we have no time to show pointless graditude."_ Said Levi. he was always like that on the outside, seemingly not caring for anybody or anything except clean floors and walls. but secretly, Levi was always one who watches and cares for his subordinates.

Eren had to do two shifts that day since the only other employee, Oruo, accidentally bit his tongue and nearly died. He thought that this was going to be a bad day for him since he had to do most of the hardwork all by himself, but little did he know, this day was going to be the luckiest day of his life.

Eren had left from work and was already on his way home when he realized that he had left his scarf at the café. so he went back to go grab it.

It was a cold and dark night. Eren was swearing to himself every chance he got. since he saw about three lightning bolts hit the ground he thought instantly that there was a storm coming.

Entering the café Eren turned on some of the lights so that he could see but not enough to make people think that the café was still open.

He took about 20 minutes looking for his scarf since he forgot where he actually placed it.

He quickly got out and locked the door, but then he noticed there was a shivering raven haired female figure wearing a simple gray long sleeved shirt and jeans with black converse shoes.

He saw that her long sleeved shirt wasn't nearly enough to keep her warm. So Eren being the person that he is, approached her and took off his jacket and placed it on her. He thought that it wasn't enough so he removed his scarf and wrapped it around her.

Almost in an instant he saw her lifeless cold expression turned into a grateful one. She said _, "T-t-thank y-you.."_ Eren gave her a warm smile, but then he saw that she was still shivering.

So he pulled her by the sleeve and opened the café door. She didn't know what his intentions were so she asked him, in a shocked and curious tone, _"W-what a-are you doing..?"_ He looked over to her while turning the lights back on and said, _"I'm making you a warm cup of coffee."_

 _"But--"_ before she could finish her sentence, her stomach let out a growl. She was utterly embarrased but noticed that he wasn't laughing or anything.

 _"And a fresh batch of brownies too."_ He said, finishing what she wanted to say before her stomach embarrased her, _"But i don't have any money!"_ , Eren looked at her and gave her a warm smile, _"It's on me."_

Shocked by his answer, she let out a quiet but loud enough to be heard _"Thank you._


	2. New Hope Part II

**: Ties That Bind :**

 _New Hope_

Part II

Chapter II

Silence filled the room as Eren was fixing up a cup of coffee and a batch of brownies for the shivering pale girl.

Eren hates silences because everytime it's silent he always feels alone, ever since he was a kid, he had _monophobia_ , which is a fear of being alone. Even though he was most of the time alone in his apartment, there were always noises coming from the outside, but this was dead silent and he hated it.

Trying to make things less quiet, he asked, _"So.. uh.. what's your name.?"_

His question startled her because it seems like she was really lost in deep thought, after a few seconds of more silence, she finally spoke, _"My name is.. Mikasa.. Ackerman."_

Hearing a name like that for the first time, he repeated her name in his head _'Mikasa Ackerman'_ Seemingly amazed by her unique name, he complemented her while stuttering a bit, because him giving anyone a complement is a **_really_** rare occurance, " _That's..a.. really.. beautiful.. name."_

His sincere complement completely suprised her, since most of the time people didn't even bother saying such nice things like that to her. Noticing that her face was slowly turning red, she pulled up the crimson scarf to cover her face. and she let out a mumbled _"thank you."_

After he finished making the coffee and seeing that the batch of brownies were done, he grabbed everything and placed it on the table and then sat in front of her.

 _"Isn't this.. a-a bit too m-much?"_ she asked,

 _"Never too much, you can eat the whole batch by yourself, it's fine."_

 _"B-but won't y-you get fired?"_

 _"Nah."_ he gave a light chuckle _"I'm the only productive employee in this place, the only other guy that works here visits the emergency room at least once a week."_

 _"W-what happened to him?"_ as the warm coffee and the brownies start to comfort her. she slowly stopped stuttering, but that wasn't the only thing that comforted her, she doesn't know why but she seems to feel comfort from the mere presence of this boy that she had only met tonight.

 _"He bit his tongue and nearly died."_ The room then was suddenly filled with a burst of laughter and noticing **_she_** was the one laughing, Eren let out a small grin, and asked.

 _"What's wrong?"_

 _"I--"_ she quickly tried to put together her words but she wasn't able to, because to her, it was the funniest thing she heard in long time.

Seeing her laughing really made him pay more close attention to her. Eren stared at her, noticing and remembering every detail of beauty on her face.

Eren thought of the girl he just met, he wondered why this girl made him feel something that he lost a long time ago, _Hope_.

He thought maybe he could relate to her in some way, maybe seeing her all alone in the cold dark night pushed him to come to her aid, like when Mr. Hannes had comforted him after his parents died.

But there was another feeling that he felt inside him, one that he can't seem to shake off. something that he had only felt now, 15 years into his life after he met a random girl. Maybe meeting her wasn't really random after all.

After a while, her laughter began to die down. So she took a deep breath and apologized for laughing, _"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh like that. It was just so funny to me."_

Her delicate voice broke Eren out of his trance, and he realized that he had been staring at her for a solid few minutes.

 _"Don't worry, it's fine"_ He said.

Realizing that she doesn't even know his name yet, she asked, _"So.. what's your name?"_

 _"Eren. Eren Yeager."_

 _"Well, thank you for this. For everything, Eren. I'll repay you someday."_

He nodded.

After that he let her finish the brownies and her coffee.

 _"So.."_ he began, _"You're a student right?"_

 _"Yeah, kind of. What about you?"_

He thought in his head ' _kind of? What does that even mean?'_ but he pushed away that thought to the side and continued. _"I'm a student as well. If you don't mind me asking, where do you live anyway?"_

His question made her remember why she was outside so late at night. She couldn't pay for this month's rent so she was about to be kicked out by tomorrow, so she thought taking a walk would've cleared her head.

 _"I.. don't really know."_ she said, with a sad tone.

 _"What do you mean you don't know? You mean you don't live with your parents?"_

 _"No, both of my.. parents died when i was 9. and.. I'm about to be kicked out, because.. i can't pay this month's rent."_

He wasn't happy seeing her expression turn from being happy and cheerful to being sad and depressed.

So he gave her an offer.

 _"Why not stay with me for a while? My place has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. and i live all by myself."_

She was really suprised by what he just said. they literally met each other only two hours ago.

 _"But--"_ Her words was cut off by Eren's kind hearted eagerness.

 _"But what? It's better than having no where to live right?"_

 _"But you're a boy Eren.."_

 _"So? You're a girl and i don't mind letting you live with me."_

Mikasa felt that he meant every single word that he uttered to her and she starts feeling something that was lost to her a long time ago return, _Hope_.

Both of them stood up, and Eren pulled her by the sleeve.

 _"Let's go, to **our** home. it's mine and yours for tonight."_


	3. Growing Closer

Ties That Bind

Growing Closer

Chapter III

 _"Let's go to **our** home, it's mine and yours for tonight."_

Those words echoed in her head as they were going to Eren's apartment.

On their way there, none of them have said a single word to each other yet. Eren was determined to give the girl he just met a home, a shelter, and Mikasa was just stuck in her thoughts.

She kept thinking to herself, _'Why is he doing this? Why is he being so nice to me? Does he want something from me?'_ and more importantly, Why does he make her feel this really foreign feeling, a feeling that she has never ever felt before.

Mikasa thought maybe it's just the cold weather getting to her head.

Eren was **_really_ ** determined to help this girl. He was still holding her by the sleeve on their way to his apartment, and then his inner thoughts starts to form, _'Should i stop holding her? Is she uncomfortable with me doing this?'_ He then took a glance at her.

He can see that she's too busy thinking about something right now, but then he noticed that she was holding up the scarf with her other hand to cover up half of her face.

 _"It's warm right?"_ He asked.

 _"Hm?"_ It seems that his words broke her out of her deep thought.

 _"The scarf. It's warm right?"_ He repeated.

 _"Y-yeah."_ but then she noticed that Eren had given her everything that was supposed to keep _him_ warm. his jacket and his scarf was on her, and all he was left with was his gray t-shirt, jeans, and black shoes.

 _"Oh!"_ She realized, _"I'm so sorry! here--"_ Eren had stopped her when she tried taking off her jacket or rather _his_.

 _"No!! It's fine!!"_ Eren knew that he _was_ fine. He thought about how the girl he just met earlier gave him all the warmth he could've ever asked for, just by her mere presence.

 _"B-but.. Aren't you cold Eren?"_ She asked with a worried tone.

 _"I'm fine, I don't need a jacket to keep me warm. You've already given me all the warmth i need"_ He said.

She felt her heart flutter when she heard his word. _'All the warmth you need?'_ She thought.

But then suddenly she stopped thinking about what he said when she felt heat rising to her cheeks.

Her skin was super pale, so even the tiniest blush was really obvious.

Eren took a glance at her. noticing that she was turning red, Eren smiled.

She knew that he was looking at her, So she quickly tried to pull up her scarf to cover her blushing red cheeks.

The rest of the way back was fairly quiet.

When they got to the apartment complex, they were greeted by a cheerful blonde old man.

 _"Oi Eren!!"_ The man greeted.

 _"Hannes-san!"_ Eren cheerfully responded.

 _"Where have you been kid? You're usually back earlier than now."_ The man asked curiously, with a little worried tone in his voice.

 _"Oh. well.. i left my scarf at work. so i went back, and then i met her, and we talked over some coffee and brownies at the café."_

The man hadn't noticed her until now, he was really fixated on asking Eren where he was, because ever since Carla and Grisha died, he had treated Eren like he was his own.

 _"So she's staying at your place, right kid?"_ Hannes asked.

 _"Yeah of course."_ Eren quickly spoke.

 _"Okay then kids, have fun. just don't sleep on the same bed while you're at it, okay?"_ Hannes jokingly said, and then he gave Mikasa a friendly wink.

Hearing those words from an adult made both of the teenagers blush in embarassment . Mikasa just pulled up her scarf, while Eren was getting a bit flustered.

 _"O-okay, Hannes-san! Gotta go!"_ Eren hastily took Mikasa's hand and pulled her onwards.

Both of the teenagers left as they head for Eren's apartment door and quickly entering it.

Hannes was then left alone all by himself, He chuckled, and spoke to himself. _"I'm proud of him, Seems like he grew up to be an independent man, I wish you two were here to see him."_ He sighed, _"Well, time to get hammered."_

As they both entered the apartment Mikasa quickly observed her surroundings. The beige walls and the dark wooden floor gave his home a unique feeling, a _homey_ feeling.

She noticed that he was still holding her hand, his grip on her was tight like he didn't want to let her go anytime soon and his hands were rough but his touch was really gentle and soft.

She didn't know whether it was out of instinct or what, but she returned his tight grip.

Eren felt her soft and smooth hand hold onto his rough skin, and it sent a jolt of electricity up his spine.

He didn't understand or even know what this feeling was, but it felt _great_.

Eren then looked at his hand that's holding her's and then took a glance to see her face.

As both pairs of eyes meet and their gaze locked onto each other. Eren felt another jolt go up his spine and she felt the same thing.

They locked their gaze for about a minute straight, Until Eren decided to tear away his gaze because he felt himself getting more red by the second.

Mikasa, who was looking very deep into his eyes, noticed the unique color that it had, It was a mixture of blue, green, and gold.

She didn't know why but she had never felt more alive in her entire life until this very moment. She felt herself blush again, but didn't even bother to even cover it up anymore.

After Eren tore away his gaze, he took a deep breath in order to regain his confidence.

 _"Come on."_ He began, _"The room is this way."_

Mikasa nodded.

Eren then pulled her towards the room.

It seems like her grip on his hand has fully sank into him, since he forgot that he was holding her hand in the first place. For some reason, It felt natural for him to be holding her hand.

As both parties entered the room, Eren turned on the light.

She saw a really comfortable looking bed with night stands by each side, a walk-in closet in the left side of the wall, and a door on the right, which she assumed, was a bathroom.

Eren gave her a few seconds to take in all of the environment before finally speaking, _"So.. You like it?"_

 _"I love it."_ She smiled, _"Thank you, Eren. For everything."_

 _"You're welcome."_ He grinned, _"By the way, do you have any clothes to sleep in?"_

 _"Not really."_ She said.

 _"Okay, then. You wait here, I'll grab a clean shirt and a pair of shorts for you."_ He then left the room.

After a few minutes, he finally returned with a white t-shirt and a pair of black shorts.

 _"Here."_ He handed over the clothes. _"You can change in the bathroom, it's the door on the right."_

She nodded and preceded to enter the bathroom.

Not to long after, she was finally done changing and came out of the bathroom.

His clothes actually fit her suprisingly well.

Eren was shocked at the sight of her womanly figure.

A string of words started to form within his head, like, _'If i was a girl, I'd turn lesbian at the sight of you.'_

But Eren knew to keep his manners to make sure she felt comfortable, and he said in awe, _"You look like an angel right now."_

Hearing his words made her blush and in turn seeing her blush made him blush as well.

Eren got a bit flustered after what happened and just said, _"W-well, G-good night!!"_ and left the room.

 _"Good night."_ She said under her breath.

 ** _The next morning.._**

Eren slept really well that night. Maybe because he knew he wasn't alone in his apartment like usual.

He quickly hopped out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash his face and tidy up his hair, because he always get serious bed hair.

As Eren went out of his room, he noticed that nothing had changed and the door was still locked from the inside, which means _she_ was still here.

Eren smiled at the thought of the girl he met last night and laughed silently at the awkward moments they shared that night.

Eren look at the palm of his hand that was holding her hand last night.

He then remembered what her hand felt like within his grip. to be honest, he really enjoyed holding her hand, she gave him _hope_ , something that he had lost a long time ago.

It was as if god had given him a new leg to replace the old one that he had lost.

And then he remembered the awkward stare the shared together.

Her piercing dark grey eyes were staring into his. He didn't know what he was feeling as they stared deeply into each other. It felt like he had butterflies in his stomach and he didn't really know why he felt like that. but then he started remembering her blushing face, it was the most adorable thing to him, and thinking about it started to make his face turn red as well.

So he pushed those thoughts to the side and started to think what to make for breakfast, knowing that she was going to wake up soon. So he decided to make something he knew best, Scrambled Eggs.

Mikasa woke up by the sound of the racket outside of her door.

She woke up staring at the ceiling and quickly realized that it wasn't _her_ ceiling.

But then she heard a voice yelling from outside the door, _"Ah shit!! My foot!!"_

And then she remembered the events that occured last night with _him_ , with Eren.

How he gave her his scarf to keep her out of the cold, how he fed her brownies and gave her coffee, how he gave her shelter in his home.

She then got up and opened the door, her room was right across from the kitchen so she instantly saw his effort at trying to cook.

It seems he was too focused and determined at cooking the eggs to even notice that she had already woken up.

Mikasa walked into the kitchen and took a seat at one of the stools.

Eren finally noticed that she was already awake and he quickly greeted her.

 _"Hey there sleepyhead!"_

 _"Hi."_ she yawned, she still felt sleepy because it was the first good night's rest that she had in a really long time.

 _"I made some hot chocolate for you._ _It's over there."_ He pointed.

 _"Thank you."_ She quietly said.

 _"You're welcome. By the way, are you in any way alergic to eggs?"_ He asked.

 _"Not at all, Why?"_

He let out his breath _, Thank god,_ he thought.

 _"I made you some scrambled eggs for breakfast."_

She then took a sip of the hot chocolate, and it tasted really good.

 _"Why are you doing this, Eren?"_ Mikasa curiously asked.

 _"What do you mean?"_ Eren hastily asked her.

 _"I mean, why are you doing all of these nice things to me? We've only met last night and you've already done more than enough to help me."_

Eren shrugged, _"I don't know. seems like the right thing to do, i guess."_

That wasn't really an answer but she nodded anyway.

 _"Here."_ He then set down her plate of scrambled eggs. _"I hope you like it."_

She then took a small piece with her fork and tasted it.

Eren was worried that she didn't like it, because to him, his cooking was never good enough.

Mikasa's eyes grew wider as she tasted the food that the boy made for her. It was the next best thing that she had ever tasted besides her mother's cooking.

Eren felt joyful as he saw her expression, and so he asked.

 _"You like it?"_

 _"It tastes.. amazing, Eren."_

 _"Well, I'm glad."_ Eren tried to conceal his super excited and happy expression. She was the first person besides himself who has ever tasted his cooking, and he was relieved that it didn't taste like crap.

Both of them sat quietly across from each other as they finish their breakfast.

 _"So.."_ He started, _"I'm going out for a walk today, do you want to join me?"_

She was a bit startled by his sudden words that broke the quiet atmosphere.

She remembered that today she had to move her stuff out of her old apartment and try to find a new place.

 _"I can't."_ she said. _"I need to move my stuff out of my old apartment and find a new one to stay in."_

 _"Oh that's right."_ He remembered. Eren for some reason didn't want to part from the girl he just met last night, because she made him able to feel feelings again apart from sadness and loneliness.

 _"Why not come live with me instead? You know very well that i only live by myself, and your company would be nice."_

She was again, suprised by his offer. She kept wondering just why in the world would he offer something like this to a person he had only met the night before.

 _"But why Eren?"_ She asked.

 _"Why what?"_

 _"Why are you offering me something like this? We barely know each other and we literally met last night._ _I thought last night you said, for **tonight**_ "

 _"It was that for last night, but now it can be from now and forever."_ He said.

 _'Forever?'_ She thought. _'What does he mean by that? Does he like me or something?'_

 _'No, It can't be that.'_ She said to herself. _'How could you be interested in someone by just taking care of them for an entire night?'_

It seems that his words really made her go into really deep thinking, so he gave her a few minutes to think about it.

After a while, he spoke, _"So, what do you think?"_

She didn't hear his words and kept staring blankly at the table while still thinking.

He spoke again, _"Um.. Mikasa? What do you think?"_

 _"O-okay, sure."_ She responded.

 _"Yeah?"_ He asked again, just to make sure.

She let out her breath, _"Yes, Eren. I'll live with you."_

Her answer made him really happy, **_really_** happy. Eren was really excited to finally have someone live with him, The last person he lived with was Mr. Hannes and that was about a few years ago.

Eren stood up, and said, _"Alright then. Let's go sleepyhead!"_

 _"Go where, Eren?"_ She asked with a suprised tone.

 _"Get your stuff, duh."_ Eren gave her a smile.

 _"Oh--"_ Her words were then interrupted by the sudden knock on the door.

 _"Hold that thought."_ He said. _"I'll check it out."_

Eren then took a look through the small peep hole of the door and saw that the one knocking was Armin, So he opened the door.

 _"Hey Armin!_ " Eren greeted. _"What's up?"_

Mikasa was curious as to who Eren was talking to, so she stood a few meters behind him to see.

 _"Hey Eren, I wanted to ask--"_ Armin stopped in the middle of his speech when he noticed the girl behind his friend.

 _"Oh! Sorry, i didn't know i was interrupting something. I'll come back later."_ Armin said.

Eren was confused for a second and asked, _"What do you mean Armin?"_

 _"You know, the girl."_

Realizing that Mikasa was standing behind him, Eren quickly introduced her to Armin.

 _"Oh yeah. Mikasa this is Armin, He's my childhood friend. Armin this is Mikasa, She's my.."_ Eren stopped talking when he realized he didn't know what she was to him.

But something in his mind made him slipped his tongue and made him say _"..girl.."_

Eren felt embarrased by his mistake but then he noticed he wasn't the only one turning red.

 _"I mean--"_ Eren quickly tried to fix his mistake but Armin had already interrupted him.

 _"Hi there! It's nice to meet you!"_ Armin cheerfully greeted.

Mikasa gave him a small wave, while simultaneously trying to cover her beet red face with the shirt she was wearing.

Armin continued, _"I didn't know Eren had a girlfriend until now. You guys weren't sleeping together were you?"_

Eren quickly denied his friend's question. _"No, Armin!! We weren't!! And for the record she's my.."_

Eren had quickly thought of the word _roommate_ but then the first words that came to mind slipped out of his tongue, making him say _"girl.."_ and _"..friend"_ altogether.

 _"That's what i said wasn't it?"_ Armin asked while giving a smirk, he knew his friend better than anybody and he definitely knew that he messes up his words whenever he's flustered.

Eren was trying to fix his mistakes again until Mikasa grabbed his hand and said, " _We're.. roommates.."_

 _"Oh.. I see"_ Armin said, _"So why are you two holding hands?"_ He asked in a teasing way.

 _"Oi Armin!! Stopped being so nosy will you!!"_ Eren shouted. _"Just tell me why you're even here!!"_

Armin smiled, He's happy seeing his friend finally showing more emotion like back when they were kids, back when he still had loving and caring parents.

 _"Nevermind, maybe next week. I'll let you spend this day with your girlfriend."_ He teased. _"See ya!!"_ Armin then ran away from Eren's apartment.

 _"Sorry about that."_ Eren apologized, He took a glance at her and noticed that her face was really **_really_** red.

He tighten his grip on her hands and asked, _"Mikasa, are you okay? You're not cold are you? You're face is beet red right now."_

Realizing that she was blushing way harder that she initally thought. She responded nerveously, _"N-n-no, Eren. It's-- I mean, I'm--"_ Embarrased by the fact that she blundered all of her words, She quietly said _"L-let's just change f-first, after t-that we'll go get my s-stuff."_

Eren nodded, He grabbed her other hand and leaned his head closer to hers. With a worried tone in his voice, He said, _"If you're not feeling okay, you can just tell me and I'll go get your stuff for you myself, okay?"_

Their heads were literally touching each other, Eren was worried about his new roommate but didn't seem to even notice that she felt really embarrased by his action.

They were holding each others hands and their faces were merely inches from each other.

Since Mikasa have seen a lot of couples around her, she knew that this was an intimate thing that couples do, but Eren on the other hand, was completly oblivious about his own action.

After a while, Mikasa finally gathered her courage and spoke, _"I-I'm fine, Eren."_

He then released one of his hands and brushed her cheek, _"Well, I'm glad you're okay."_ He whispered to her.

As their eyes finally lock onto each other, Eren felt a jolt of electricity go up his spine. He felt himself turn red after he'd just realized what he did.

He nearly choked, _"Oh! I'm-- I-- I didn't-- I wasn't--"_ Eren didn't seem to know what he wanted to say or how to even say it.

Seeing him like this made her giggle since he's really cute when he's flustered.

She retook his hand that previously let go of hers.

 _"Eren."_ She called his name.

As Eren looked into her eyes, She gave him a smile and said, _"It's fine."_ Before releasing her grip on both of his hands.

 _"Right. Sorry. Let's just get ready."_ He said.

She nodded, and entered the room she stayed in to get changed.

She leaned her back against the door.

She could feel her heart beating really fast, She didn't know what she was feeling, and how he managed to make her feel like that.

She thought to herself, _'Maybe he doesn't like me, Maybe i like him. What else other than that could explain how i feel right now.'_

She felt herself smile before setting away those thoughts and getting ready.

As Eren entered his room, he shut the door immediately and went to the bathroom.

He looked at his own reflection in the mirror and saw how his face was really red. So he took a bit of water and splashed it onto his face to calm himself down.

He started thinking, _'What the hell is going on with me right now? Why do i feel so weird and nerveous? I don't like her like that do i? No, I don't.'_

Eren took another look at his reflection and saw that his ears were red. He didn't know what to think except _'Oh.'_

He felt that he was taking way too long thinking about what just happened. So he just decided to discard those thoughts and get ready.

Mikasa waited outside of her door for Eren. She wore everything that she wore last night before she met Eren, But she didn't wear his scarf or jacket again since she thought that she would just give it back to him.

Eren finally came out wearing a simple white t-shirt, jeans, and a brown leather jacket.

He noticed that she wasn't wearing anything to protect her from the cold weather outside. So he told her. _"You can wear the jacket, Mikasa."_ he paused, _"And the scarf too."_

 _"But, Eren--"_ She said before being interrupted.

 _"No more buts, Just wear it."_

She nodded and continued to wear the pair of clothing that he had lent her.

They walked beside each other in relative silence for most of the way to her old place.

It didn't take too long for them to get her stuff and go back, since she only had about two boxes worth of stuff.

As they were making their way back to Eren's apartment, That's now _their_ apartment. They encountered Mr. Hannes.

 _"Hey kids!_ The old man greeted.

 _"Hey Hannes-san!"_ He greeted back.

While Mikasa just nodded at him.

 _"So, What are you doing with the boxes?"_ The old blonde curiously asked.

 _"She's moving in with me, Hannes-san."_

 _"Oh?"_ He questioned while rising an eyebrow.

 _"That's right, Eren said that i could move in with him."_ She said.

 _"Oh, well okay then. Have fun kids!"_ He cheerfully said.

 _"Will do, Hannes-san!"_

 _"Just, don't go too far. Okay kids? You're still fifteen after all."_ He chuckled.

 _"Wha-- What are you talking about, Hannes-san?"_ Eren asked.

Mikasa felt a bit embarrased and blushed because she know fully well what the adult meant.

 _"L-let's go, Eren."_ She said.

 _"Oh right, See you later, Hannes-san!"_ Eren said his goodbye.

 _"See ya, kids!_

The two teenagers quickly entered their apartment and set down the boxes in her new room.

Eren helped her unpack all of her things and it didn't take too long to tidy up all of it.

Both of them sat down on the living room couch to rest after moving her in.

Eren looked over at Mikasa who was seemingly very lost in her thoughts.

He smiled, _"You wanna have lunch? It's already time anyway."_

His words startled her a bit because shewas _very lost_ in her thoughts, She responded _"Are you cooking?"_

 _"If you want, sure."_ He happily said.

 _"Then yes."_ She smiled.

He then cooked for the both of them with a bit of her help along the way.

And they spend the entire rest of the day getting to know each other.

It's weird how fate always seems to work like that, you think something happened out of random chance, but it's never like that. every small step that you take will always lead to something bigger.

Like how he met her just last night, how he took a small step foward to help her and how it'll affect his own world in the future.

It seems like they really enjoyed each others company to even notice that time had move foward without them knowing.

 _"We should probably head to bed right about now. It's pretty late."_ He suggested.

She yawned, _"Mmm-kay."_

He smiled, _"Good night, Mikasa."_

She returned his smile, _"Good night, Eren."_


	4. Tying Us Together

**WARNING:**

 ** _Contains adult topic and mature subject, don't say i didn't warn you!_**

 **: Ties That Bind :**

 _Tying Us Together_

Chapter IV

It was a few months after they met each other. It had already turned from the cold harsh winter to the warm and welcoming spring.

 _"Eren."_ He heard.

 _"Eren.."_ He heard it once again.

 _"Eren... wake up."_ He then awoken from his slumber, It seems like the cool breeze of the tree above of him made him fall asleep.

He smiled at the first thing he saw when he woke up. It was Mikasa, she had leaned in really close to make sure Eren was okay.

She felt a bit worried when he wasn't moving all that much, because losing someone she deeply cared about was her biggest fear.

He let out a yawn, _"What is it, Mikasa?"_

 _"You really shouldn't be sleeping in a public park, Eren."_ she answered.

He chuckled, _"Ye-ah, but you were the one that made us come here, remember?"_

 _"Yes, Eren. I remember, but you were the one that fell asleep under a tree. What if the tree decides to suck the life out of you?"_ She said to him.

 _"That's not--_ She interrupted him.

 _"Then I'll have no one left, Eren."_ She said with tears forming in her eyes.

 _"Mikasa."_ He said. _"I'm not going anywhere, I promise."_ He hated it when she feels sad, So everytime that happens Eren's instinct to comfort her always kicks in.

He caressed her cheek, _"I promise."_

She swallowed, _"O-okay, Eren."_

 _"Now come on, Let's go somewhere fun. Like watch a movie or eat lunch."_ He said with a smile.

 _"L-like a.. date..?"_ She asked nerveously.

Her question completely suprised him. He had asked her to do something like this many times, but this was the first time she had asked him something like that.

The boy starts feeling nerveous by the thought of them being romantically involved.

 _"I-If you w-want to.."_ He said to her, but then he thought to himself, _'Oh god, what am i getting myself into this time? If she wants to that's fine i guess, but what if she doesn't like it? Then things would be awkward between us, and we live together, so that'll be even worse.'_

 _"S-sure."_ She responded.

 _"R-r-really?"_ Eren was a bit excited but a bit scared and nerveous as well, because it's the first time he's done this kind of thing before.

 _"Y-yeah. Eren."_

He felt happy but at the same time scared because he didn't know anything about dating.

 _"So.. Where to?"_ He asked.

 _"W-we could just go to the movies, like we usually do."_ She said with more ease.

 _"Let's go then."_ Eren grabbed her hand, It was the first time he had hold her hand in a long while. The last time was the day after the had met each other.

She felt herself turning red, and asked him, _"W-what a-are you doing, Eren?"_

He answered, _"This is what people do when they date right? They hold hands?"_

 _"I-I guess."_ She answered.

 _"So let's just enjoy this date okay? Consider this day our day." _He said with full confindence, Knowing completely that if he has confidence she'll surely enjoy this date.

She nodded. _"O-okay, Eren._

 _"Let's go."_

As both of them make their way to the movie theater located near the center of their hometown. Eren noticed that Mikasa seems to be really happy and that made him happy too.

It didn't take too long for them to walk to the movie theater, since it wasn't that far from the park they were in earlier.

 _"So.."_ He began, _"What do you wanna watch?"_

She look at him and answered, _"Eren, You're the one that asked me to go with you. Why am i the one making all the decisions?"_

 _"Oh. right. sorry._ " He apologized, and then asked, _"How about we watch something romantic?"_

This suprised her, since normally Eren only likes to watch action movies, But she didn't complain, _"Sure, Why not?"_ She said.

 _"Great! Let's go."_ He said excitedly.

During the entire movie Eren couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from her. He thought it was maybe because of what Armin said to him a while ago when he told his friend about his weird feelings for Mikasa.

 _"Maybe you have a crush on her, Eren."_ That was what he said.

He then noticed she was touching her lips and he wondered what it would feel like on top of his.

He felt the heat rising up to his cheeks so he decided to look away from her and cover his face with his shirt.

He thought to himself _'God, Why is she so perfect?'_

He tried to forget the fact that he imagined what kissing her would feel like, but he just couldn't, and the redness in his cheek wouldn't go away for the rest of the movie.

After the movie, both of them decided to go back and hang out at the park because it was getting pretty late in the evening, and the park was the closest public place to their home.

 _"So, did you like the movie?"_ He asked.

 _"It was.. enjoyable"_ That was kind of a lie since she actually loved the movie, but she didn't want Eren to know that she's the type of girl whose into those kinds of things.

 _"You were touching your lips a lot during the romance scenes."_ He pointed out.

 _'You noticed that?'_ She thought to herself, _'Oh no! he probably thinks I'm weird now.'_ She was so worried about his opinion on her action, that she didn't even realized that she completely spaced out.

 _"Mikasa? Mikasa!"_ He called out to her, but she didn't respond. So he took both of her hands and hold her like he did the day after they met.

And it worked. She stopped spacing out and questioned him, _"Eren? What's going on?"_

 _"You spaced out on me, Mikasa. What were you thinking about?"_ He asked.

She shrugged and said, _"It's.. nothing."_

 _"Mikasa.."_ He called her name. _"Look at me."_

So she did, both of them locked their gaze and Eren said, _"You know you can tell me anything right?"_

It seems that everytime she looks into Eren's eyes she would always get lost in them.

Everything was silent then. Eren looked deep into her eyes as silence loomed over them.

He leaned in and gave her a peck on the lips.

Her eyes grew wider because of what he did just know.

Eren quickly tried apologize for his sudden action, _"I-- I'm sorry, I didn't-- I mean--"_ But then out of nowhere, she returned his kiss.

He hadn't expected something like this at all, He thought maybe she would've pushed him away or slapped him in the face.

Both of them really enjoyed the kiss they shared together, It was a sloppy amateur kiss of course since it was their firsts.

As the two teenagers finally released each other and were gasping for air, Eren tighten his grip on her hands, _"Let's go home."_ He said.

She nodded, and both of them start to make their way back home.

On their way, Mikasa traced over her lips and remembered how his lips felt on top of her. She didn't think that a kiss would've ever felt so amazing, because to her, It was her first.

Eren was thinking about the kiss that they shared at the park, He thought, _'Why did i gave her that peck on the lips earlier? Why did it feel so right to do? Why did she kiss me back? And why did her lips felt so amazing? '_ Because to him, It was also his first.

He glanced at her and thought she was probably still thinking about the kiss too. So he focused all of his attention into making sure they get home without getting lost, because it would be hard to go home if both of them were spacing out.

It was getting dark outside and they both were feeling very tired from their date as they came back, Eren thought he would just order pizza for the two of them since he was too tired and lazy to even cook dinner.

After finishing their pizza, they seemed to have gathered more energy, so they chatted once again for about an hour before they decided they were going to bed.

 _"Good night, Eren."_ She said without even looking at him.

He didn't respond since he was thinking whether or not he should give her another kiss before bed.

Suddenly, He went over to grab her hand and pulled her in for another kiss and she embraced it.

This kiss felt greater than the first since they already had some idea on what they're doing.

Eren lost complete control over his body to the pleasure.

As they were kissing, Eren slipped his tongue in her mouth, which suprised her and made her let out a moan.

He released their kiss to regain his breath, before pinning her against the wall and start kissing her once more.

He kissed her up and down her neck, making her moan his name, which he loved hearing.

After he stopped again to take another breath, she looked at him with puppy eyes and said, _"Eren... not here.. please."_

He nodded and took her hand, pulling her towards his room.

Eren closed the door to make sure no sound would ever escape the room.

Then and there she felt very vulnerable. He was the wolf and she was his prey.

He then moved in closer towards her, smooching her while also moving her onto the bed.

They were making out quite intensely, He brushed his hand on her thighs, sending chills up her spine.

 _"Eren.."_ She stopped him while giving him a look on her face. A look of desire to be pleasured by him, she needed him, _she wanted him._

 _"Yeah?_ He asked.

 _"I want it, Eren."_ The sound of her voice says it all, A desperate need to fulfilled, and he loved hearing it.

She continued, _"I want you."_

Eren continued kissing her as he began to undress her, revealing her pink small panty that was modest enough to cover her womanly parts. He placed his hand between her thighs and began to rub while unbuttoning her shirt with his other free hand.

She moaned his name as he did it. After finished unbuttoning her shirt, he decides to give her a smooch while still pleasuring her.

He then starts to unbuckle his pants and taking it off. After he's taken his pants off, he gives her a questioning look, asking for consent. In which she nodded to.

He holds her tight as he began to enter her. She gasps after he's fully entered her, _"Eren.!!"_ She moaned his name.

He enjoyed every second of it, because he felt pleasure and he also felt that there's a connection between them.

She pulls him closer, and whispered _" I love you.._ in his ear.

He kissed her and said _" I love you too, Mikasa._As night turn to day, Eren was woken up by the ray of sunlight going through his blinds. He looked over next to him, and _she_ was still there.

 _'So last night **wasn't**_ _a dream.'_ He spoke to himself.

He thought about leaving the room to go make breakfast but then he remembered the promise he made her, _'I'm not going anywhere, I promise.'_

So he stayed with her. Like he had promised.

 **A young man spoke to himself while staring up the ceiling of his room.**

 ** _"It seems like that moment was so long ago. We shared many of our firsts together, and we promised to never leave each other's side. But i didn't expect her to be the one who broke that promise."_**

— _To be continued —_


	5. We meet, Once again

**: Ties That Bind :**

" _We meet, Once again_ "

Chapter V

They were sixteen when they had their first date, first kiss, first time doing it. It all happened on the very same day, and they cherished every second of it.

Eren is older now, he's 24. He hasn't changed all that much physically. He has longer hair now, long enough to cover his eyes and ears, and he had grew a bit of facial hair. His skin has gotten many scars and marks of old wounds due to the many fights that he's gotten himself into.

But despite all the changes to his appearance, he wasn't the same person he was 5 years ago. He was left a broken soul by her, unable to find another love, because she was his _only_ love.

They were together for about 4 years, from the day he met her when he was fifteen to when he was nineteen and in that span of time he had realized that she was his beacon that guided him through this cruel world, She was his fuel that kept his soul burning.

But then on that fateful day, She just disappeared completely from his life.

He had moved away from his hometown of Shiganshina to a city called Trost along with his best friend, Armin.

Armin was the second person that Hannes had trusted to take care of Eren when he passed away.

And Armin was the one who insisted they move away to Trost, because living in the place where she left him wasn't going to mend any of his wounds no matter how long it took, he tried to living a normal life in their hometown for the first year after she left him, but he wasn't getting any better, If not he was getting much worse back then.

They had lived in a really nice place for the past 4 years now, they had made many friends in this new city, even though most of them are just their neighbors.

 _"Eren."_ Armin called him, But no response.

 _"Eren."_ He called again, still no response.

Eren was still staring at the ceiling of his bedroom thinking about her, even though they had never saw or heard from each other again in the past 5 years, he still has her in his mind.

It was a cold winter day, Eren had hated winter ever since what happened, because it reminded him of that painful memory, the memory of losing her, because she left him on a winter day, the very same day that they had met each other, _December 8th_.

 _"Eren, I'm coming in!"_ Armin shouted before opening the door.

The sound of the creaking door had brought Eren back to reality, and he asked, _"What is it, Armin?"_

 _"I'm going back to our hometown to visit my grandpa. I'll be back in the next 3 weeks."_ Armin said, Not mentioning the name of their _hometown_ just to make sure not to trigger any bad memories that Eren had of it.

 _"So you'll be celebrating christmas there?"_ He asked.

 _"Yeah._ " He simply responded.

 _"Oh."_ He paused, _"Have fun, Armin."_ He said with a cheerful tone that seemed really forced.

But Eren then remembered something and asked, _"Hey, What date is today?"_

 _"December 8th, Why do you ask?"_

Nothing came out of his mouth as the sadness slowly set in, it was this exact day that he had found his true love, but it was also the day that he lost it. _"It's nothing, Armin."_ He lied, not wanting for his friend to worry about him.

 _"Okay, Eren. See you in three weeks!"_ Armin said before heading out the door.

 _"Yeah._ _See you"_ He waved at him.

 **\--M--**

Mikasa woke up feeling pretty shaken up that morning.

Because she had another dream about _him,_ about Eren.

She's been having these dreams at least once a month for the past few years. She never realized how much she had missed waking up next to his warmth.

She can never admit it, but she really did miss having him in her life. She missed his voice, his laughter, his cooking, his cute face when he's flustered, his quirky sense of humor, his smell, and to sum it all up, she missed _him_.

She decided to push all of those thoughts aside and got up off her bed to go make breakfast for herself.

 _"What should i make?"_ She asked herself, Her brain instantly thought of _'Omelet'_ and she immediately regretted asking herself that, but she decided to make omelet anyway.

Eren had taught her how to make his delicious omelet when she asked him how he managed to make it taste so good.

Using the knowledge that he had given her, she tried to make the best she can possibly make.

She tasted her own cooking and sighed at herself, _"It's not the same.."_

Feeling pretty disappointed at her own cooking, she finished her entire breakfast without putting much thought into it.

Mikasa took a refreshing shower, thinking that it would at least clear her head a bit, It didn't work.

She looked over at her shelf looking for something to read just to distract herself and to get her mind to stop thinking about _him_.

She took a quick glance over all the books she had, and one caught her eye, _"Degrees of sleeplessness"_ It was a book that he gave her. A story about two teachers at a local highschool, in the midst of work and home-life, find themselves indutibaly and inescapably drawn to one another.

It was his final gift to her before they parted from each other.

She started thinking about how much he's probably changed now. She thought about how he would look by now, and if he still remembers who she is or if he's found another love interest. She didn't know anything about how he is now because she swore to herself to never see him again. She doesn't even know if he's even still alive.

She reached out her hand to grab the book, but she stopped when she heard her phone buzzing.

She walked over to her bed to see what it was.

It was a text from her boyfriend, Jean.

 _"Hey Mika ;) You ready for the party tonight?"_ He called her ' _Mika_ ' because he thinks it's a cute nickname.

She remembered about the party that he had invited her to, but she forgot because she was too busy thinking about Eren instead of her actual boyfriend.

 _"Yes, Of course."_ She texted him back.

 _"Can't wait. See you tonight, Love you."_ He replied.

 _"Love you too."_

She then took the book and decided to read until it was almost time for the party.

She found a drawing on the 8th page that both of them had drew, It was a love heart with _'Mikasa Eren'_ written inside it.

She placed her hand over her mouth when she remembered his promise on the night that they drew that together.

 _"I'm never going to leave your side, I love you no matter what, Forever and always."_ That was what he said.

She shed a tear when she heard his voice echoing through her head while saying the final part of his promise.

 _"Till death do us part."_

She regretted ever leaving him, She wants him back in her life, but she knew she couldn't just go back into his life as if nothing happened. That's not how the world works.

 _"Eren.."_ She said.

It was the first time she spoke of his name in the past 5 years, she had thought of him many times, but this was the first time that his name actually came out of her mouth.

She wiped the tears off of her face when she glanced at the clock and realized it was almost time.

She washed her face to make sure her boyfriend wouldn't realize that she was actually crying.

Mikasa didn't know what to wear, so she just decided to throw on a pair of jeans, a black blouse, and a thin cardigan to cover herself.

Before leaving, Mikasa wrapped herself in her most valuable piece of clothing, _his scarf._

The scarf that he had wrapped around her on the night that they met holds a special in her heart, It was the thing that reminded her of _him_ and her old happy self, because no matter how hard or how many times she had washed it, a tint of his smell would always stay on it, never to fade away.

As she made her way outside, she decided to just get a taxi to where the party took place, since it was a bit far to walk on foot and she didn't want to get lost in case she suddenly start spacing out.

When she arrived, she was greeted by her boyfriend, who had waited for her outside of the place.

 _"Hey, babe."_ He greeted her and kissed her on the cheek.

 _"Hey."_ She responded with her usual stoic expression.

 _"Let's go inside."_ He said as held the door open for her, _"You look stunning as always."_

Mikasa just said. _"Thank you."_

For the entire time, she was always next to Jean since she didn't know anyone else there.

He held her close by his side the entire time that she was with him, he held her proudly, as if he was holding a prize that someone gave him.

But Jean was also a caring boyfriend like _h_ e was. She looked sad the whole time that she was there, so he asked, _"Mika, Are you okay?"_

She nodded and gave him a fake smile. _"I'm fine."_

 _"Are you sure?"_ He pried.

 _"I'm fine, I just.. think i should go outside and take a walk."_

 _"Okay, Be careful, babe."_ He said before watching her leave.

She walked the streets all by herself in the cold dark night, with only her scarf as her only source of warmth.

Mikasa just walked without really anywhere to go and without any purpose, like a lost soul trapped in a purgatory world, unable to move on.

She suddenly stopped walking, when she saw across the street, there was a park with a huge willow tree on top of a small hill. It reminded her of the tree that they used to sit under back in their hometown.

As she began remembering all of the sad memories, she slowly felt the cold temperature seep into her body, causing her to start shivering.

She remembered that night he had come to her rescue when she was left all alone in the cold darkness, but she knew that something like that would never happen again.

Mikasa's eyes widened as she felt a sudden warmth envelope her shivering cold body.

A voice then spoke, **_"What kind of person wears such thin clothing in the middle of winter?"_**

 **\--E--**

Eren noticed that his phone was beeping so he went and checked what it was.

It was a text Reiner, one of the many friends he had made while living in Trost for the past 4 years.

Reiner was a really nice and cheerful person, he was like everyones big brother and he was pretty humerous too. He had his own partner in crime when it comes to things, Reiner never went anywhere without the company of his best friend, Berthold.

Berthold was the tallest person in their little friend group, He was happy most of the time and gave everyone a little boost of morale by cheering them up. He was known for his weird sleeping positions that people thought could be used to predict the weather.

He read the text that Reiner had just sent him, _"Eren, Come have lunch with us in the 104th."_

 _'104th?'_ Eren thought, and then texted him him a question, _"You mean Sasha's place?"_

He then waited for a response, _"Yeah, She set up a huge table and everything. Are you coming or what?"_

Eren simply responded with, _"Sure."_

He got up out of bed and put on a white shirt, jeans, a super warm jacket, and quickly got on his way towards _'The 104th'_

It was only about 3 blocks away from his apartment so he decided to just walk there.

Eren was greeted by all of his friends as he entered _'The 104th'_

 _"Hey Eren!!"_ The bald headed young man greeted.

 _"Geez, Eren. Shave your face will you? and cut your hair too. I thought you were a customer that didn't saw the 'closed' sign"_ said the food loving brunette.

 _"Took you long enough, you little shit."_ The freckled girl said with a joking tone.

 _"Ymir! I told you to be nice to Eren didn't I?"_ Said the small blonde.

While the rest just simply waved at him.

Eren sat at the farthest end of the table, and greeted, _"Hey guys."_ He then noticed one of them was missing aside from Armin. _"Where's Marco?"_ He asked.

 _"He couldn't make it"_ Reiner responded, _"And where's Armin, Eren?"_

 _"Oh, Armin is going to stay at his grandpa's back in our hometown for about 3 weeks."_ He answered as he shut off his phone and placed it on the table, to make sure it didn't bother him.

After hearing his answer everyone seemed to be getting back to their own business and their own conversation.

They finished having their lunch with a few jokes and laughs spread along the way.

 _"So, guys."_ Reiner spoke up, _"Where are we having that christmas party?"_

 _"What christmas party?"_ Eren asked, He didn't even know there _was_ a party coming up.

Hearing the question, Reiner looked over to Connie, _"You haven't told him yet?"_

The person in question responded, _"Oh yeah."_ He remembered. _"Eren, We're having a christmas party on the night before christmas day."_

 _"You don't have that much hair blocking your thoughts_ , _and you can't even remember a simple thing like that."_ Ymir jokingly said before letting out a laugh.

 _"Hey!!"_ Connie felt a bit offended by her remark, but didn't really care since he actually enjoyed having very little amounts of hair on his head.

 _"So, Where are we going to have the party, guys?"_ Reiner asked again.

 _"I thought Marco was handling that, That's why he isn't here remember?"_ Berthold said while looking at his friend.

 _"Oh yeah. That's right."_ He remembered. _"Well that discussion ended quickly, Hey Sasha! Can we hang out here for a little while?"_ He asked.

 _"Yeah, sure. The place isn't open anyway, So let's just hang out here for the rest of the day."_ Sasha said.

So Eren and his friends spent their entire rest of the day just chatting and hanging around with each other.

It was getting pretty late so everyone decided it was time to go back home.

 _"Alright guys! Time to close the place."_ Sasha said.

 _"Wait! Can i use the bathroom first?"_ Eren asked.

 _"Sure, Just lock the door when you leave, Okay?_ _And don't forget to drop off the key later."_ Sasha then handed him a spare key to the place.

Eren nodded and went to the bathroom as all of his friends leave him to go back to their own homes.

It was a fairly quick trip to the bathroom. After that Eren locked the door and began walking home.

Midway back Eren wanted to look at what time it was, so he patted his pockets to look for his phone and realized that he had left it back in Sasha's place.

 _"Agh, shit."_ Eren groaned and then started walking back. It was starting to get really cold and Eren just heard about three lightning strikes, so he decides to hurry up before a storm comes.

He didn't look around as he was walking because he was solely focused on getting his phone back and going home.

As Eren unlock the door and began searching for his phone, he remembered that he had left his phone somewhere on the table, He shifted his gaze onto the table, it was a mess that nobody had bothered to clean up.

Eren had picked up a habit of cleaning from his boss and he really couldn't stand seeing it like that. So he just grabbed his phone, took off his jacket, turned on the lights and just began cleaning everything up.

It took him about 30 minutes to clean it all up. After he was done, he turned off all the lights and left.

But as he was locking the door, He noticed there was a shivering female figure staring at an object across the street from her.

Eren has always had an instinct to step in and help others in need, it was something that his mother had taught him to do.

He felt as if something like this had happened before, but he pushed all of those thoughts to the side to go and help this individual.

So being the person that he is, Eren took off his jacket and covered the shivering figure.

And he asked, _"What kind of person wears such thin clothing in the middle of winter?"_

— _To be continued_ —


	6. We find ourselves, Once again

**: Ties That Bind :**

 _"We find ourselves, Once again"_

Chapter VI

 _"What kind of person wears such thin clothing in the middle of winter?"_ Said the young man.

Mikasa's eyes glimmered as she realized what was happening and who this person was.

 _"E...Eren...?"_ She asked the man.

She thought that this might've just been one of those dreams again, But she feels warmth. How can a dream ever give her warmth? Is this really happening? Or has she completely lost herself?

 _"Mi..Mikasa..? Is...that...you?"_

Eren couldn't believe what was happening right now. Is she really here right now? Or has the cold gotten to his head?

He questioned whether this was reality or just a sick joke that the world decided to pull on him.

 _"Eren_ _..? Are.. you.. really here?"_ Her voice was filled with every bit of uncertainty that exists within her body.

 _"Mikasa.."_ Eren didn't care if this was a dream or not anymore because he sees her and feels her presence. _She's here._

 _"It's been a while, hasn't it?"_ He gave her the most heart warming smile that he could.

She can't believe that this was happening right now, It's really _h_ _im_ , But she wasn't really sure what to believe.

Suddenly she lunged at him. Giving him a really tight hug and she heard it, she felt it, his heartbeat, He was real.

She quickly released him and apologized. _"I- I'm sorry."_

He was glad that she's real, and not some weird hallucination.

He smiled at her, _"About the hug? Don't worry, I like hugs remember?"_

He was really happy to finally see her again after all these years, He feels like he's alive again, He feels like he has a purpose.

And so did she. She's feels like she's finally been found again, She wasn't just another lost soul waiting for the end to come and get her.

She didn't dare speak another word, She just wants silence, She wants to cherish this moment.

 _"You must feel really cold right now. Come on, I know a place nearby that could heat you up."_ Eren said to her casually, As if the event that occured five years ago didn't even happen.

He began walking but then stopped when he noticed she was just standing there looking at the ground and wasn't following him, _"Come on, Mikasa!"_ He shouted.

 _"Oh, right."_ She said as his words brought her back to reality.

 _"So.. uh.. What.. brings you to Trost?"_ Eren asked.

 _"I...live.. here.. have been for the past 5 years.."_ She answered slowly.

To be honest, Eren was a bit suprised that they had lived in the same city but have never even met or saw one another until now.

 _"Coffee or Tea?"_ Eren asked while staring up at the sky.

 _"Huh..?"_ She was confused by his seemingly random question.

 _"Do you want coffee or tea?"_ He clarified.

 _"Oh.. I-"_ She was then suddenly interrupted by him, He knows her answer.

 _"Wait, Don't answer that."_ He told her and paused, _"Hot chocolate, right?"_

The fact that he remembered her senseless love for hot chocolate made her smile, _"You know me so well."_

Mikasa loves hot chocolate. He used to make the best hot chocolate for her, back before everything happened.

Eren had brought her to a nearby café, rightfully named _'The Veteran Café'_. When they entered the café, Eren was greeted by an orange haired lady.

 _"Hey, Eren! What brings you here so late at night?"_ The lady asked.

 _"Hey, Petra. I'm just buying some hot chocolate for my friend right here."_ He said.

 _"Ah, I see. One hot chocolate coming up!"_ Said the orange haired lady.

Eren then looked at Mikasa and smiled.

 _"What is it, Eren?"_ She asked.

He noticed she was still wearing the crimson scarf that he had given her. He feels happy that she hasn't completely forgotten about him after she left.

 _"Oh. Um. It's nothing, Just happy to see you again, that's all."_

She's happy to see him too. She misses him so much. He was her everything, and she regrets her selfish needs for getting in the way of their relationship.

 _"I'm.. happy to see you too, Eren."_ She said.

 _"Come on, Let's take a seat."_ Eren instructed her as Petra handed him the cup of hot chocolate.

They sat on the booth next to the window in the corner of the café.

She took a sip from the cup of hot chocolate. It was good, really good, but not as good as the ones _h_ e used to make.

 _"It's good right?"_ He asked.

 _"It tastes.. kinda a bit familiar."_ She didn't really know how to explain it, but she felt a really familiar and unique taste on the tip of her tongue.

He let out a small laugh, _"Yeah, I taught them how to make my special hot chocolate."_ And then he smiled.

 _"Your special?"_ She raised a brow, She didn't even know he had a special recipe since she just loves everything that he used to make for her.

 _"Yeah, It was the one that you said was your favorite."_ He paused, _"You wanna know what i got them to name it?"_

 _"What..?"_

 _"The Ackerwoman Special."_

Eren used to call her Ackerwoman back then before they parted ways. He called her that because she was, to put it simply, _His woman._ And because Eren's old boss had the same surname as her.

She thought it was the sweetest thing that he named his special drink after the nickname that he gave her.

 _"I like it."_ She smiled.

 _"I knew you would. Anyway, What have you been doing recently?"_ He questions her, He really wanted to know whether or not she was living a happy life here in Trost after she left.

 _"I'm a co-owner of a gym that my friend, Annie, opened."_ She told him.

She had been friends with Annie for about 4 years now. They met each other while working out in a gym and slowly but surely became closer as time moves on, They shared pretty similar interests and a similarly tragic past, so that helped them bond a bit more.

 _"Wait, Annie? As in Annie Leonhardt?_ Eren questioned her with a bit of a suprised tone. He knew that Annie co-owned a gym with another girl, but he didn't expect that girl to be one he already knew.

 _"Yes. That Annie, What? Do you know her?"_ She asked.

 _"I wouldn't say 'know', But yeah, I live next door to her."_ Eren happened to be Annie's neighbor and they've been pretty good friends for as long as they've known each other. He was the one that urged her to broke out of her lonely shell and got her to start talking a lot more.

While she wasn't really much of conversationalist, Eren making her start talking to more people really earned her a lot of new friends and she was really thankful for him doing so.

 _"Really? How come she never mentioned you?"_ Mikasa asked, It was really suprising to know that they were still connected in some way.

 _"I was about to ask you the same thing. To be honest, I don't really know, Maybe she finds me annoying or something_. _But why didn't she ever mentioned you?"_ He asked.

 _"Maybe she finds me annoying too._ " She mumbled.

 _"How could anyone find you annoying?_

Suddenly, she poked Eren in the nose.

 _"Boop."_ She giggled.

He sighed. _"Nevermind, Forget what i just said._

It felt really good to finally laugh again. Mikasa hasn't really had a laugh after what happened between her and Eren.

 _"Either way, Annie has a lot of explaining to do._ " He muttered.

 _"Now it's your turn, tell me."_ She said with a playful tone.

 _"I kinda sorta work for a charity service. The Survey Corps to be exact."_

She raised a brow, _"And why did you join them?"_ Mikasa has heard of the name before, since Jean often refers to them as crazy lunatics. And how he wants to join a similar group called the _'Military Guards'_

 _"They want to further mankind and help other people, that's why i joined. And also because they give out cool capes to the members."_ He answered.

She laughed, _"Of course they do."_

 _"Hey! The capes are cool okay!"_ He protested with a joking tone.

They laughed and continued to catch up for about another hour.

Mikasa's phone suddenly vibrated, But she ignored it to continue her conversation with the person that she had missed for such a long time.

But then an influx of text messages started coming in, so she finally checked her phone.

 _"What is it?"_ Eren asked.

It was a text from Jean, She read it.

 _'Mika, Where are you? Did you go home? Call me._ '

And then there was another one.

' _Mika, I'm worried. Where are you? Please answer me ASAP.'_

And another one.

 _'The party is already over Mika, Please, I need to know that you're okay. I'm at your place right now. Call me._ '

Even though Jean could be a jerk to other people sometimes, He was always nice and caring for her, And she thought it was sweet.

They met each other when they went to college and she said yes when he asked her out for the first time, Not because she was in love with him, But because he was the closest thing to another Eren.

 _"It's.. my boyfriend."_ She answered slowly.

' _Wait, She has a boyfriend?'_ Eren thought, _' I guess.. she's moved on from me. Well duh, She left 5 years ago, Why did i even think she feels the same way i do?'_

 _"Eren, I think i should go now._ _My boyfriend is getting worried about me."_ She said.

 _"Oh. Right. Well, can i at least walk you?"_ He asked, Eren wanted more time to be with her, He doesn't want to leave her side yet. He's been wanting to see her ever since 5 years ago and now it finally happened, He doesn't want her to leave him again.

 _"Okay."_

She accepted his request. She didn't want to leave him again either, but she has a boyfriend now that's worried and sick about her.

Eren stood up, _"So where to?"_

 _"104th Kyojin Avenue."_ She answered.

 _"That's not that far. Come on."_ And they both left the café.

Eren knows every part of the city by now, he's basically like a living map. He knows every gym, every café, every restaurant, every hotel, every nightclub, and every apartment building.

He knew all of that because simply joining The Survey Corps requires you to survey your surroundings, Hence the name.

 _"So do you know your way around the city?"_ He asked.

 _"I know my way to the gym, and to a chinese takeout place near my apartment, but that's pretty much it."_ She answered.

 _"You only go to a gym and a chinese place the entire time you've been living here? How the hell did you survive?"_ He scoffed.

 _"I just never took the time to look around, you know?"_

 _"Yeah, I guess I do. Tell you what, How about I'll give you a tour around Trost next week? I know my way around this place. So how does that sound?"_ He offered.

 _"I'd very much like that, Eren."_ She smiled. She's very happy that she'll get to spend more time with Eren again.

Both of them didn't realize they were already in front of her place since they were really enjoying each others company.

 _"Well, I guess this is it."_ Eren said reluctantly. He wasn't ready to let her go again. The time that they spent together tonight wasn't nearly enough to make up for the 5 years that he missed her.

 _"Yeah, I guess. See you later. Eren."_ She said.

Eren nodded as the sadness from inside him slowly resurfaced.

He began walking when she suddenly shouted his name.

 _"Eren!! Wait!!"_

He looked at her, feeling a bit confused as to what was going on.

 _"How will i be able to reach you for next week, Eren? Can you give me your number?"_ She asked.

 _"Oh. Right. Here."_ Eren took out a picture out of his wallet and wrote on the back of it, since he had no paper.

 _"Great! I'll see you next week then."_ She said excitedly.

She didn't actually needed his number for next week. She knew he'd probably just come over uninvited, but she wanted his number, Just so she can call and talk to him.

She gave Eren a quick hug, and they parted again, for now.

 **\--M--**

Mikasa flipped over the picture that he used to write his number on, and She smiled. It was the picture that they took on one of their very last dates.

It was one that they took inside of a photobooth when the carnival was in town.

She was wearing a white and blue striped long sleeve shirt with her scarf on while Eren was wearing a black and red striped shirt. And in that picture, He was kissing her on the cheek.

It was a happy memory that they shared together, And she wondered why did he gave this picture to her. He should've kept it for himself.

She felt her eyes starting to tear up from the sad memories and regrets that had just resurfaced.

She could still see him walking alone in the distance.

She thought whether or not she should just chase after him and apologize for every bit of pain and sadness that she had caused him when she left.

She hesitated.

As Eren slowly disappeared from her view she started to cry.

Her voice was cracking and trembling as she spoke under her breath.

 _"I--I'm.. so.. sorry.."_

She promised herself to make things right between him and her. It's the least she could do after hurting him.

Mikasa wiped the tears from her eyes and entered her apartment building.

She opened the door and noticed there was someone inside. It was Jean.

 _"Babe!! Are okay?! Where have you been? I thought you just took a walk."_ He then noticed that she had tears in her eyes.

 _"Are..you..okay? Why.. are you crying?"_ Jean gave her a hug trying to comfort her, But she refused and gently pushed him away.

 _"What's wrong babe? Please just tell me."_

She really didn't want anyone to be here right now, especially Jean. She just wants to be alone and think about how she can try to make things right with Eren.

 _"I.. want to be alone.. Jean."_

He was shocked by what she said, but he understands that she really doesn't want him to be here.

 _"I.. understand.. I'll see you later.. Mikasa."_

He walked out of her apartment without saying another word to her.

Mikasa slowly walked towards her bedroom while thinking about what she should do right now.

She then remembers that she had something hidden that was full of their precious memories together.

She pulled a box out from underneath her bed and took out a photo album.

It was filled with happy memories from the days before. He was smiling in every single picture and so was she. There was one picture where they were sitting together under _their_ tree in shiganshina.

It was the moment right after he told her that he wanted to grow old and have kids together with her. He promised to never ever leave her side until that dream is fulfilled and he asked her does she promise him the same thing. She did, She really did promised him that.

Mikasa starts sobbing on the thought that she had lied to him. She broke his dream of wanting them to get married and growing old together.

 _"I'm...sorry..."_

She couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She remembered the voice of a younger and more cheerful Eren that asked her.

 _"...So when we're older.. Let's get married..okay?"_

She cried ever harder when the voice echoed through her head. Tears were dripping down her face and onto the photo album.

She could take it anymore. So she dropped the photo album on the floor and quickly buried her face on a pillow that was on her bed.

 _"...Eren..."_

She cried out his name. He was the only one that could truly ever comfort her and she just threw him away. That decision was the biggest mistake she has ever made in her life.

His dream of getting married to her and having kids together was crushed instantly on that day.

The voice of Eren spoke in her head. Reminding her of Eren's biggest promise to her.

 _"I'll_ _love you forever and always..Till death do us part"_

 **\--E--**

Eren walked the streets back home all by himself while still thinking about what just happened.

Did that really just happened? Was she real or was she just a figment of his imagination? He questioned the reality of everything that had just occurred when a sudden chill struck him.

 _"God. Why is it so cold?"_

Eren smiled after realizing that his jacket was gone. So that _was_ real after all. Feeling more and more cold by the minute, So he decided to hurry back to his apartment.

When he stepped out of the elevator and walked towards his apartment. He noticed that Annie was standing in front of the door with her hand up. It seems like she was contemplating whether or not to knock on the door.

Eren slowly walked up behind and placed his hands on her shoulders.

 _"Hey Annie!!"_

She felt herself jump a bit before giving him a swift kick to his legs, Making him fall.

 _"Agh.. Why are you so violent sometimes?"_

"Don't do that again." Annie said as she helped him get up.

 _"Yeah, sorry. So what are you doing outside my door so late at night?"_

 _"I..was.. nevermind.. I'm just going to go back now.."_

Annie seems to act a lot more strange lately when she's around Eren. It's like she enjoys his company but at the same time she feels a tad bit uncomfortable.

 _"Hey, Annie.. You wouldn't be outside my door so late at night if it wasn't important. Let's just talk inside."_

 _"No.. I'm goin--"_

She stopped in the middle of her sentence when she saw Eren's hand reaching out to hers.

 _"Fine.."_

Eren invited her in and sat her on the couch of the living room. He's a bit curious on what she wanted to talk about so late at night.

 _"What's up, Annie?"_

 _"Will.. you be at the christmas party?"_

 _"Of course I'm gonna be there, Why do you ask?"_

 _"I'll just talk to you about it at the christmas party then."_

 _"Okay.. Um.. Are you sure you don't want to talk about it now?"_

 _"Yes. I'm going back now. Goodbye, Eren."_

 _"Bye, Annie!"_

And just like that she left. He didn't know what was up with her. She seems to act differently towards Eren these days and not like when they first met.

Eren's facade of happiness fades away as he was left all by himself.

He thought about what Mikasa is like now. She has a boyfriend and she's living in a really nice apartment, better than the old one that they lived in together all those years ago.

He thought about how happy she must be after she left. She didn't even seem sad at all the entire night that they hung out together.

He feels like he's the only one between them who wanted things to go back like they were before.

Eren got off his couch and walked towards his bedroom while thinking about what to do.

He feels lost again. He feels weak and hopeless. He feels like an idiot for thinking she missed him the same way he missed her.

Eren remembered the moment after he asked her to marry him when they got older. It was his dream. To marry her and just be happy for the rest of his life.

He remembered her response perfectly and it started to echo within his head.

 _"Yes, Eren.. I promise I'll never leave you..."_

Eren tried to hold back his tears but he just couldn't anymore. After all these years he still can't believe that those beautiful words that was supposed to reflect passion and love was a lie.

 _"I'm.. such a fool... for thinking anyone.. would stay by my side..."_

His voice was trembling and started to get a bit scratchy.

He tried wiping the tears of his face but it just keeps coming. He feels weak and vulnerable.

But suddenly his phone started ringing. It was an incoming call from an unknown number.

He answered it and said nothing. Just waiting for a voice to come from the other side.

 _"Eren..?"_

It was _her_ voice, He can hear it in her voice she sounds like she's been crying.

 _"Yeah..?"_

 _"I miss you.."_

 **- _To be continued -_**


	7. Love hurts Part I

**: Ties That Bind :**

 _Love hurts_

Part I

Chapter VII

 _"Eren..?"_

 _"Yeah..?"_

 _"I miss you.."_

Eren didn't know what to think when she said those words. He's glad that she missed him like he missed her, but does she still love him like he still loves her?

 _"I... miss you too.. Mikasa.."_

She could cleary hear his raspy voice. _He's_ been crying too. Mikasa really wanted to talk to him in person instead of talking through the phone because she really _did_ miss him. She wants him in front of her. She wants to feel his presence and his warmth.

 _"Eren... can.. you.. come over?"_

It was 11:30 PM and she feels really selfish for asking him to come over so late at night, but she can't help what her heart wants.

 _"I..."_

Eren paused and thought about what he's going to do. What if her boyfriend is there? Won't that be awkward for them? But Eren too, Can't help what his heart wants.

 _"I'll be right there.."_

Mikasa was so happy that he accepted her invitation, but she's also worried about her relationship at the moment. She still has a boyfriend and she doesn't know what to do. Wouldn't doing anything with Eren be considered cheating? And she clearly didn't want to cheat on her boyfriend. So she thought she should just leave him for Eren if anything happens.

 _"See you later.. Eren.."_

 _"See you.. Mikasa.."_

They both let out their breath as they hung up. One was out of worry and the other was out of happiness and excitement.

 _"She.. did miss me after all."_

Eren was really happy, but he didn't know what he was getting himself into. She has a boyfriend and he didn't want to steal another man's girlfriend because that's not the kind of behavior his mother taught him. But Eren opted to push those thoughts aside for now and just get going to her place.

As Eren walked out his door he could feel the breeze of the outside air. His jacket is not with him.

 _"Shit... my jacket.."_

Mikasa was also happy that she gets to see him way sooner than planned. Is she really going to do this? Will she leave Jean for Eren? What if Eren has a girlfriend that he didn't mention? Because trying to do anything with Eren if that's the case would've been bad for her.

Mikasa just pushed those thoughts to the side and starts to focus on the matter in hand. She thought about what she should wear. Should she wear something proper or just wear her normal sleeping attire? Which doesn't cover much of her body at all since it's just a small T-shirt and a pretty small pair of shorts because she didn't want to just wear her bare panties to bed during winter.

She thought more about it and finally decided on what to wear.

 _"Sleeping clothes will do_.. i guess."

As she was changing, She noticed that she was wearing a jacket that she didn't wore as a part of her outfit.

 _"This is.. Eren's jacket."_

After about 20 minutes, Eren finally arrived at her place. He wanted to call her and ask which one was her apartment door, but he just decided to look for himself.

It seems like every single one of the doors has a certain unique look that reflects the person that owns it. He quickly found her door which was a standard fancy door that had an oddly blank look to it.

 _"This must be hers.."_

Eren knocked on the door three times and waited.

 _"Is this her door or am i wrong?"_

The door was then opened and he was greeted with a hug. She released her tight grip on his body to go and verbally greet him.

 _"Hey, Eren!"_

 _"H--"_

He was baffled by the little amount of clothes that covered her body. She was wearing a small white shirt that showed a small portion of her abs and a really small pair of shorts that looked barely like shorts at all.

 _"H-H-Hey.. Mikasa."_

As he was tumbling over his words, Mikasa noticed his rosy cheeks. He definitely didn't expect her to be wearing this.

 _"Come on in, Eren."_

 _"R-R-Right.. okay."_

Eren closed the door behind him as he entered, And they both sat on the couch.

 _"So..uh.. Mikasa, What are we doing tonight?"_

Mikasa hadn't thought about that. She was too busy worrying about things to even make plans on what they were doing tonight. But a quick thought comes to mind when it comes hanging out with Eren, _Movies_.

 _"How about.. We watch a movie here together..? A horror one. If you're brave enough that is."_

She teased him. She remembers how he would cling onto her whenever a scary scene pops up, but that was years ago.

 _"Hmph, Challenge accepted missy!_ _Bring it on!"_

A sudden growling noise echoed throughout the room. It was her stomach. She didn't really eat anything at the party nor did she eat anything when she was with Eren. She felt really embarrassed by what just occurred.

 _"S-Sorry."_

 _"But.. Let's cook dinner first. I'm sure you haven't eaten anything."_

Eren quickly took off his jacket and bag, and rushed towards the kitchen with her following behind him.

 _"Eren! Wait! You don't have to--"_

He quickly interrupted her, because he know she would just say he doesn't have to cook her anything but he wants to. He hasn't cooked anything for her in 5 years.

 _"But i want to. Now let's see."_

She felt a bit of love when he said he wants to cook for her. He doesn't need to, he just wants to do it. It's like a part of his natural instinct.

Eren looked inside the cupboards and fridge to see what he can make her. After a brief look he decided, _Spaghetti._

 _"How about pasta?"_

 _"Okay, Eren. I'll prepare everything first."_

Mikasa got everything that was needed and handed it over to Eren. After that she went over to prepare the plates when she noticed, There was only one left.

 _"Hey, Eren..!"_

 _"Yeah?"_ _"There's only one plate left."_

 _"One plate is enough, Mikasa!"_

 _"But what about you?"_

 _"I don't have to eat, you know."_

 _"Yes, you do. Eren. Make enough for the two of us, okay? I'll think of something."_

 _"Fine."_

Mikasa took the plate and placed it on the table. It wasn't that small really. It was big enough for the two of them to eat off it.

After Eren was done making spaghetti for the two of them. They began eating together.

 _"How does it taste, Mikasa?"_

 _"It's amazing, Eren."_ _"I'm glad you like it."_

They both spoke as they were eating away at the spaghetti. They spoke a lot when they were eating.

Until suddenly they got the same line of pasta and accidentally kissed each other.

Mikasa felt heat rising to her cheeks while Eren is just bright red.

 _"M-Mikasa! I-- I'm sorry-- I didn't mean to."_

 _"It's.. Okay.. Eren."_

She gave him the most beautiful smile and that made him even more red then he already was. Eren buried his face in his shirt trying to hide his embarrassment.

 _"Eren."_

She called to get him to face her.

 _"Yea--"_

She suddenly licked a part of his face that was really close to his lips.

 _"Gah!! What was that for, Mikasa?!?"_

 _"You had sauce on your face, Eren."_

 _"So you licked me?!"_

Mikasa didn't answer and just slightly puffed her cheeks in a childlike manner. It was the cutest thing ever. Eren also noticed that she had a bit of sauce on her face as well, so he decided to return the favor.

 _"Guess who else has sauce on their face?"_

 _"Huh??"_

He licked her face quickly and gently.

 _"Eren!!"_

She was visibly blushing after Eren had just licked her face and she quickly puffed her cheeks again.

 _"Let's just finish this shall we? We can lick each others faces later."_

 _"Fine, Eren. We'll lick each others faces later."_

 _"Wait what?! I was just joking about the licking thing."_

 _"Oh, so you don't want to do it with me, Eren?"_

 _"I-- No-- I mean-- Yes--."_

Mikasa gave Eren a kiss on the cheek to mess with him even more.

 _"Gah!! That wasn't a lick!!"_

Mikasa giggled at the sight of a blushing and flustered Eren.

 _"I'm just messing around, Eren."_

They both finished the spaghetti and went back to the couch with full bellies. Mikasa had already picked the movie when Eren was still cooking and she made sure it was the scariest one that she had.

 _"Wait. Let me make drinks for us first. Do you have hot chocolate?"_

 _"No.. I don't."_

 _"That's okay. I got you covered."_

Eren had brought a small bag with the necessary things to make hot chocolate when he grabbed his other jacket back in his apartment.

After he was done making both of them hot chocolate. They both sat next to each other on the couch while sharing a blanket over them.

Eren didn't get scared all that much. It was actually Mikasa that held her grip tightly on Eren as the jumpscares was happening on screen.

As the credits rolled, Eren looked over at the clock. It was 3 AM already. Both of them were very tired after the movie.

 _"Mikasa.. I should head back now."_

 _"No, Eren._ _. You can just stay here."_

 _"I can't, Mikasa. You have a boyfriend."_

 _"Well, He doesn't live here. Eren. So just stay."_

 _"I can't--"_

He stopped as he noticed the sudden change of atmosphere in the room. Her happy self wasn't here anymore, She seems sadder.

 _"Please.. Eren.. I'm lonely.."_

She sounded so desperate and sad to him that he couldn't say no. He needs to be here for her and he wants to.

 _"Okay.. I'll stay here with you.."_

 **\-- _End of Part I_ \--**


End file.
